Disclaimer: Yes, yes, the babysitter is back in town. The copyright people
should be thanking me... *a chibi-Duo runs past her, knocking Shammy off
her feet and giggling as he did so. A growling chibi-Heero comes chasing
after, tackling chibi-Duo to the ground and start a mock fight.* Oy! Cut
it out, the two of you! H-Hey! Take that kind of play to the bedroom, okay?
We've got an audience!

Heero hesitated in his typing to see one Duo Maxwell bounce into their
room, full of unused energy as he practically pounced to look over his shoulder.

Heero felt himself slightly recoil as Duo pushed his way over his shoulder,
a hand on either side of him. Fortunately for him, all the information in
his computer was encypted, although it wasn't as if he didn't trust Duo.
It was just that Duo had a big mouth.

Duo frowned as he stared in confusion at the computer screen. "Hey!
What's the point of encypting this when I'm the only person besides to come
into this room?" He finally realized he was leaning half his body on
Heero, and blinked before quickly climbing off the other boy.

Heero breathed out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when
Duo did that. It wasn't that he didn't like Duo close, it was that sometimes
he froze up when Duo was a little too close.

"Well?" Duo demanded after several moments of silence.

Heero blinked and looked carefully at his partner. Duo was wearing the
exact same thing he always wore, a slightly modified priest's outfit, but
this time it seemed- well, a little bit sloppier. Or it could the the wisps
of hair that was slipping from the braid.

Duo noticed what Heero was looking at and gave a sheepish grin. "I
think I pissed Wufei off again."

Heero raised and eyebrow after that, and gave a small smile that was
barely noticable. Well, Duo noticed, anyway.

"..Hey! Was that a smile I saw on ya?" Duo pressed, leaning
close on Heero again, making the smile disappear. He tilted his head and
peeeeered closely at his partner, before giving a wide grin. "Well,
considering that Wuffie and I argue all the time, I donno why you're smiling
about something like that."

Heero only shook his head slightly. "What do you want, Duo?"

Duo grinned again and backed up a bit, hopping onto his bed and softly
bouncing once before settling down. "You remember when you asked Zechs
about the alicorn?" He asked, cocking his head to one side.

Heero nodded. It was three days ago when Zechs had barged in and told
the Gundam pilots about the three Worlds and how something was wrong. Heero
had asked for information on alicorns, since he had seen one at the Delos's
party.

"You were asking me if I knew anything on the alicorn you saw."
Duo stated and leaned back, lifted up by his elbows yet still looking at
Heero with the same smile on his lips.

Heero's brow furrowed. "You said you don't know her."

"I don't." Duo quickly put in. "At least... I don'y personally
know her. She only comes when I seem to need her, or when I'm emotionally
distressed." His smile looked a little forced now and he shifted positions,
sitting back further on the bed so he could have the space to pull his knees
up to his chest and hug his legs.

Heero was silent.

"I remember a few weeks ago when I named her NightMare." Duo
chuckled sloftly at that. "I said she was a mare that was as dark as
the night. It suited until the realize the word being used when you put
those two together. Kinda embarressing, really."

There was another area of silence and Duo shifted again uncomfortably,
not used to just sitting down. He had just told Heero.... "Maa, Heero.
Why the long face?"

Indeed Heero did seem a bit sad. Duo blinked in surprise when Heero
actually pushed out of his chair and went to sit next to Duo.

The bed bounced softly against the second body.

Heero had placed his hands down on the bed and was now looking at them
for a moment to organize his thoughts. "Zechs said... alicorns are
replacements for Angels."

Duo looked startled, but then relaxed. "Aa. But that doesn't change
anything. If I had a choice, I think I'd choose NightMare anyway. I think
it is better to know that someone's there to watch over you."

Heero gave a soft snort. "Idiot. Of course."

Duo grinned, he wasn't sure of Heero was calling him an idiot or himself,
but it really didn't matter.

The Japanese boy turned to see Duo's grin, and his eyes softened considerably.
"About your earlier question," he said softly. "I encypt
every- thing I wrote not because I have you as a roommate. It's because
I'm used to writing like that already."

Duo's grin turned into a sincere smile. "I know. I was just asking
to get a reaction out of you so I could start the conversation."

Heero gave his head a firm shake, slightly amused. That would be typical
Duo, all right. "Aa....t-thank you... for telling me about her."

Duo laid his cheek on his knees, looking at Heero, his violet eyes betraying
the emotions he was feeling. "You're welcome." He said simply,
with more emotion in his voice than in his eyes. "I figured if I had
to tell anyone, I would much rather tell you."

Heero tried a small smile. "Tell me more?"

Duo smiled back.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"You guys have been gone from school for the past week! What happened?"
Artemis was asking as she talked to Duo in between classes.

They were shoving their way through crowds of students, intent on getting
up the stairs against the mob of bodies that were going down. Why couldn't
schools have larger facilities?

"There was an emergancy," Duo said, twisting the words around
in his head so that he wouldn't blurt anything out. It was hard not to lie
outright. "My friends and I are really close- like family. Someone
we knew came and asked for our help. We used the week going through how
we could help this man." Hey, that was actually very close.

Artemis yelped as a large roll backpack tried to cross over her foot.
"Damn those people who are too lazy to carry their books, anyway!"
then she turned her attention back on Duo. "You guys are really kind
to this guy. Did you know him well?"

Duo thought for a moment. "Well, sorta."

"Well, that's nice of you," she said distantly. "We had
someone come to our house for help, too. My sister wouldn't let us help."

Duo faltered on the stairs. "Diana?!"

Artemis nodded. "She may be very nice, but she's harsh on grudges.
Never forgives a person for anyone they did until that person outrighttedly
apologizes to her." she winced. "I learned that the hard way."

By now, they were finally on top of the stairs, with barely anyone running
about since the warning bell had gone off.

Duo only shook his head. "I really don't care about this class."
He looked away slight and murmured, "It's not as if we're going to
be staying here long, anyway."

"Ehh? What was that, Duo?"

"Nothing. Nothing."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Quatre figetted in his seat. He just couldn't be still, his Space Heart
was warning him that something big was going to happen today. Not with school,
like a bad grade, but more like an OZ attack or more of those shadowy creatures
show up. Something bad.

Wufei was sitting next to him, since they had this class together. He
needed to notice the blond Arabian's distress, for he turned and gave Quatre
a curious look.

Quatre only shook his head to Wufei's unasked question.

"Mr. Winner? Mr. Chang? Do you have re-admit card for your absenses?"
The teacher asked.

Quatre and Wufei both passed up their alibi, and the teacher's eyebrow
went up in question. She looked at the two pilots. "Family? You don't
look much alike."

"Our families were very close." Quatre lied. "We practically
grew up with each other."

She seemed to find that reason good enough and signed their cards, telling
them to pass it on to their next teacher.

So class started once again and Quatre found that he just couldn't keep
still. OZ had called a cease-fire, right? That means something was wrong
with the other Worlds...

He begratted himself silently to even think about that. He still didn't
completely believe in what Zechs had said, and he couldn't just start thinking
that everything bad he feels will be because something is going on in the
other Worlds.

But he just had the strangest feeling...

Raising his hand quickly, he apologized to the teacher but said that
he didn't feel well and needed to use the restroom.

Then, without waiting for permission, he barged out of the the room.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Duo? What are you doing out?"

Duo whirled around, started that someone had seen him staring out the
second story window when it realized it was only Heero.

Duo shrugged. "Artemis was questioning me about what happened.
And it was homeroom. Two things I don't like very much. I had to get some
fresh air." He gestured to the window.

Heero moved up the join him, and they both leaned on the windowsill,
their senses tuned to make sure that they weren't going to get caught by
some passing janitor.

"Why are you out?" Duo asked, "I thought you excelled
at your classes and were the perfect student."

Heero imitated Duo's response and shrugged. "There was no air in
class. People were also asking me questions."

"Aa. You too, huh?"

"Hn."

The two stood there for a while, just looking out the window at the
falling leaves and the green grass.

"This is really messed up," Duo whispered quietly, knowing
that Heero would hear. "That we have to pretend to be normal students
all the time... and carry around a job as Gundam pilots." He gave a
small laugh that was only slightly hysterical. "Even when there's a
cease-fire, we're going to be looking for Angels. Will we never get a break?"

Heero hesitated, then said, "They were talking about the war in
class."

"Yeah." the response was small, and the comfortable mood before
shattered. Duo closed his eyes and rested his head on the glass, leaning
onto the windowsill. "All of them. Talking about how they hope the
Gundam pilots weren't going to disturb the brief peace. The teacher let
them."

Heero was silent, watching the long-haired boy.

"I keep having this battle with myself," Duo said. "I
want to jump up and tell everyone that we're only fighting for peace, and
we're not the evil monsters that they described. That our lives are very
hard and that we bleed easily, unlike the immortal beasts the media portrays
us as." He opened his eyes and looked up at Heero. "But I don't
want to let anyone know that I'm a Gundam pilot not because of secrecy,
but because I don't what anyone to know about this once the war really is
done and over with. I don't want their pity, but I want them to understand.
Is that selfish?"

There was a pause as Heero really thought about it. He had a feeling
he had to answer truthfully here, no matter what. "No. You only want
them to understand what you're fighting for, but want to stay annomynous
at the same time. The feeling is mutual."

Duo blinked, then smiled at Heero. Somehow, it was always that Japanese
boy who could get such a calm reaction out of him.

"You don't have to take this on alone, you know." Heero said
softly. "All of us have to face this, and none of us share the burden.
But you don't have to."

Duo offered a hesitant smile. "You don't have to either."

Daringly, Heero lifted up a hand to brush the bangs out of Duo's eyes,
and gave the other boy a slight smile. "I'm not."

Duo smiled, and tilted his head slightly to the touch, eyes still locked
on Heero. "That's good. Cause... well,"

"Yeah?" Heero asked, leaning in a bit closer.

"I was hoping-"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Quatre streamed down the hall, feeling the need for fresh air and maybe
some water splashed onto his face. He had a sick feeling at the pit of his
stomach that something was wrong, and he really wanted to get rid of that
feeling no matter what-

As he turned the corner, he finally stopped in his tracks, his sick
feeling temperary forgotten. There was Heero and Duo, both standing by the
window, with Heero's hand on Duo's face and the former leaning in closer
to the latter.

Quatre immediantly turned red and looked away, but his feet refused
to stay in place even as he turned his face away to the obviously private
scene. But no matter what he did, he couldn't keep in the soft squick of
surprise that escaped his lips.

The two by the window immediantly seperated, fumbling before looking
at Quatre, who, of course, was beet red.

"What are you doing out, Quatre?" Duo squeaked, then blinked,
and calmed down again. "Shouldn't you be in class?" He asked in
his normal voice this time.

Quatre shook his head. "I was going to the restroom..." Then
he realized something, "Shouldn't the two of you be in class?"

Heero seemed to be sulking while Duo laughed nervously. "Well,
kinda turned out that we both needed some fresh air. Don't mind us, we were
just kinda stuffed in the classroom...."

Quatre nodded, feeling very uncomfortable. "Well, um, if you don't
need me here-" he mentally winced as he thought that he shouldn't be
there in the first place... ruined a damn good mood for them, "I think
I'll be going back to class." He spun around and quickly started to
walk away.

"Weren't you going to the restroom, Quatre?"

"Oh! Yeah... uhh, yeah." With that, he spun around again and
hurried past the two, face still flushed as he practically ran down the
hall.

Duo stared after his friend and shook his head slightly. "Weird."

1.) In my school World History is for Sophmores, okay? Maybe not in the
other schools, but I'm only taking Age of Chivalry right now... and that
sucks enough that I know I'm not going to like World History next year.

End part 8

WOW!!! I need to go to school right now REALLY FAST... and I have a speech
test for first period that I haven't looked over.... but I finished all
this in the MORNING! Gee, I'm kinda hyper. That's a good thing, though,
right? *winces as teacher glares at her* Anyway, gotta goooooo!!!!